Monthly Archives: November 2006

A team of intrepid researchers from Icelandic and Turkey are planning a three-month journey through Central Asia to research the origins of Runic writing, according to the Zaman online newspaper. They believe that Runic writing was transmitted to Europe from Mongolia via the Silk Road. The usually explanation of the origins of the Orkhon script […]

Share this:

Like this:

Today I came across another interesting language learning method on Language learning tips, which was used by the 19th-century German archaeologist, Heinrich Schliemann (1822-1890), who excavated Troy. In order to learn Greek he read a Greek translation of one of his favourite books, and compared the translation word by word and line by line with […]

Share this:

Like this:

There’s some useful advice on a site I found today called Language Learning Tips. One of the tips for building vocabulary is that you try to learn three new words in the language(s) you’re studying every day, and that you write them down in a diary or blog. After a year, you’ll have a vocabulary […]

Share this:

Like this:

It’s extremely windy here today, which has got me thinking about the names given to particular winds in different parts of the world. My favourite wind names are Sirocco, a southerly wind that blows from north Africa to southern Europe, and Mistral, a cold northerly wind that blows from central France and the Alps to […]

Share this:

Like this:

It struck me today that the Irish word for artists, ealaíontóirí, sounds like ‘alien tory’. I hadn’t really noticed this before. When I hear or read the word, it usually brings to mind artists and art, though hearing it out of context triggered the thoughts of extraterrestrial members of the Conservative Party. I try to […]

Share this:

Like this:

A number of you have suggested that I add a forum to Omniglot. I’ve been investigating this and it doesn’t appear to be too difficult to set up. What I’m not sure about is how long I’d need to spend administering and moderating it. Do any of you act as forum adminstrators or moderators? How […]

Share this:

Like this:

Today’s word, hysbyseb (pl, hysbysebion), is the Welsh for advertisement or insertion. Related words include, hysbysebu, to advertise or inform, hysbysfwrdd, noticeboard, hysbysiad, announcement, and hysbysrwydd, information, which is also gwybodaeth. Hysbyseb comes from the hysbys, which means known, and is used in the term for soothsayer, dyn hysbys. Examples of usage Dw i wedi […]